


Divine Violinist

by sweetcarolanne



Category: Vampire Chronicles - Anne Rice
Genre: Classical Music, Confessions, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, M/M, Musicians, Past Relationship(s), Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-19
Updated: 2016-01-19
Packaged: 2018-05-14 22:49:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5761867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetcarolanne/pseuds/sweetcarolanne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A violinist's performance brings back memories for Lestat - and brings about a change in Claudia.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Divine Violinist

**Author's Note:**

  * For [silvered](https://archiveofourown.org/users/silvered/gifts).



> Dear silvered, I hope you like this story; your prompts were very inspiring and this was fun to write!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters and am making no money from this story. All profits and credit belong to Anne Rice and her associates, etc. etc.
> 
> Many thanks to my beta who wishes to remain anonymous.

Louis did not care to attend that evening’s recital for some reason, so it was Claudia and Lestat who went to see the celebrated violinist play on their own.

The event took place at a small salon, a much more intimate space than the grand theater and opera house that the vampire family usually frequented, but nonetheless the room was filled with wealthy and exquisitely dressed people. As always, Lestat and Claudia turned heads with their exceptional good looks and fine clothes, especially delicate little Claudia with her long fair curls and her gorgeous silk dress of purest white tied at the waist with a sash of sapphire blue. 

From the very moment the violinist began to play, however, every heart and mind in the place was instantly captivated. Even Lestat’s attention was kept riveted by the enchanting melodies the handsome, graceful young man wrought before his audience. Claudia was enjoying the music too, but she was even more fascinated by the fact that Lestat’s eyes seemed far brighter than usual, and his whole body expressed his rapt state of concentration. She had never seen her vampire father so passionate about a performance that was not one of his beloved Shakespeare plays. 

Lestat even seemed a little saddened when the show was finally over, and made sure that he and Claudia were introduced to the charming musician, who seemed quite taken with the beautiful golden-haired pair. He even blushed a little when Lestat paid him several suave compliments, and Claudia sensed that something was different about the manner in which Lestat spoke to this man and gazed into his eyes.

Claudia had seen Lestat be seductive with victims before, but the way he acted this time was nothing like that. There appeared to be a touch of genuine fondness in Lestat’s subtle, discreet semi-flirtation. It was almost like the way Lestat behaved around Louis, Claudia supposed. Not quite exactly the same, but there were enough elements of similarity for Claudia to pay very close attention indeed.

After reluctantly leaving the salon, Lestat and Claudia walked lovingly hand in hand, the perfect picture of father and daughter. Neither spoke, but the bond between them was evident in their closeness and their beaming smiles. Both were still full of joy from the performance, and full of anticipation for the hunt and the kill that lay ahead.

“I know that you don’t intend to kill him,” Claudia said later that night, as she perched on the settee draped in her best lace nightgown, her eyes calmly fixed on Lestat as he stood by the window, appearing to be lost in thought or memory.

“That is correct, dear child. I do not,” Lestat replied, his tone equally as calm as Claudia’s gaze. He knew, without having to inquire, who Claudia was referring to.

“May I ask why?” 

Her expression one of complete innocence, Claudia tilted her head, waiting for the response she obviously expected, which was either irritation or condescension from Lestat, or a half-truth about how such musical talent was too valuable to waste. But Lestat merely sat beside Claudia and simply said, quietly and honestly, “He reminds me of someone.”

Claudia nodded slowly, but otherwise remained still and silent. She knew that this was very unlike Lestat – both to pass up the chance to drain the life from such an attractive victim and to display what he would normally deride as sentiments fit only for mortals. Therefore she did not press him to reveal more, but something in her demeanour, a hint of sweet childish curiosity and what almost might be described as an element of sympathy were she not a vampire, prompted Lestat to continue.

“His name was Nicolas. He played the violin, and I loved him. The love I felt for him was unlike any I have ever felt before. Not until I found Louis – and then you, chérie – did I love like that again.”

Lestat said nothing more after that, and neither did Claudia, but the child slid closer to her maker and embraced him tenderly with all a little girl’s affection for her father. Sensing his unaccustomed melancholy and offering comfort, but with a dawning awareness of an almost imperceptible shift in power.

But from that night onwards, things were never the same between Lestat and Claudia. It was as if the vampire child had gained some new insight into the one who had made her immortal, and her naiveté had been, in part, swept aside by Lestat’s disclosure. 

Many years later, when the strife between them would flare and Claudia began to question the reason for her existence in the form of an eternal child, Lestat would come to wonder if that unguarded moment had marked the beginning of Claudia’s awakening into a woman’s state of mind.


End file.
